Covenant Partnership Session 7

Discovering and Delighting leads us to Declare! We talk about what we love.

Summary:
Matthew 12:34 says, “For out
of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks”. This means that the things that are most
important to us are what we talk about (good and bad), and the things that are
not significant, we don't. Therefore, if
we are not talking about Jesus, three potential problems exist: Either we don’t know, don’t remember, or
don’t care. Instead of feeling guilty,
our hope is to encourage each other to live in that place where we discover and
delight daily so that we’ll begin to talk about that which deserves the glory
the most: Our Great God!

Before you watch the video, ask these
questions:

1. What do we talk about most in American culture? (kids, money, beauty, exercise, family, work)

2. What does this reveal about us?

Questions for discussion:

1.Consider Matthew 12:34 “For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks”. Based upon what comes out of our mouths, what is in our hearts?

2.According to Matthew 12:34, how can we change what comes out of our mouths?

3.If we aren't talking about Jesus, more than likely it is because we don’t know, don’t remember, or don’t care. Can you think of any examples of this in scripture (hint…the churches in Revelation 1-3 all had a certain type of amnesia).

4.When we don’t talk about Jesus, which issue is it in our lives specifically (know, remember, or care)?

5.What is the typical response to questions like these? (guilt, shame, try harder). Are these good responses in light of the gospel? What does guilt, shame, and a work harder mentality produce?

6.If we aren't talking about Jesus it’s because we need to discover and delight all the more. What practical steps can we take to discover? Delight?

7.If all of creation declares His glory, how can we use creation for its intended purpose? (Creations intended purpose is a sign post that points towards God). How can we see God in all of creation (discover), and then glorify Him all the more, finding our joy in Him?

8.When we and fellow believers forget (and we all forget often), what systems, tools, strategies, and activities can we put in place that will help us to live in discovery and delight so that we can remind one-another so that we can declare again? (think about the Old Testament strategies of remembering…sometimes as simple as reading, sometimes building a pile of rocks)

9.By listening to each other (believers and unbelievers) we can tell what is in our hearts. What we put our hope in will either lead to freedom or slavery. How can we turn conversations (remembering that people talk about what they love) into opportunities to declare grace and let Jesus set people free from slavery?